Polish
by Miss Soupy
Summary: oneshot, Sakura-centric, NaruSaku. But for some reason, when she lay down to sleep, a finger brushing against the smooth surface of a nail, she felt empty inside.


**Polish**

She sits on her bedroll, pale legs tucked neatly beneath her, as she frowns at her palms. They are callused and painful due to an extra-intense training session she had the day before; usually, she would feel quite proud of her battle wounds as they indicated progress. But this time Sakura wishes it was different, and she isn't quite sure why. Perhaps it is because of the nature of her mission that she is feeling increasingly sensitive about her femininity. They are traveling to the capital of Fire Country. There are mostly civilians here and she is feeling a bit out of place. But it is an easy escort mission that will pay out triple what they are used to. Naruto had fussed about it being too easy until she thought she might throw him out the window of Hokage Tower. Thankfully for him, a threatening glance had been enough to make him listen to reason.

Digging into her pack, she pulled out a bottle of green nail polish and began touching up her chipped nails.

"Why are you doing that, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, plopping down next to her on the mat, eyes watching as she carefully glided the brush across her nails. "And why always that color?"

Her brow ticked. "It goes with my eyes…" she mumbled, trying to keep her attention on her task rather than the curious energy coming from the blonde next to her.

"But _why_, Sakura-chan?" He asks again, "It seems like a pain."

Sai eyes them from across the fire as if the situation before him is now more fascinating than the drawing he had been working on.

She frowns down at her hands. "I don't mind," she tells him, but inwardly she wonders at it too. Why does she bother? One day of practice and it looked horribly chipped, causing her to go through more bottles than she would want to admit, and no one had ever complemented her on the color. No one had ever said it made her look more beautiful. Yet the habit continued without thought.

Naruto was silent next to her. She could feel his eyes on her face, and she feigned ignorance. She had noticed an increasing awareness of Naruto's actions developing lately. Sakura found herself watching him more carefully now. Somehow she cared about what he thought, and yet the things she wanted to know were things he guarded the most heavily.

Puckering her lips she blew, replacing the brush in the bottle and twisting on the cap.

"Done!" she announced, attempting to blanket herself in a bit of normalcy for a moment.

Naruto smiled. "Looks good, Sakura-chan!" He hadn't really looked at them, but she accepted his compliment anyways.

But for some reason, when she lay down to sleep, a finger brushing against the smooth surface of a nail, she felt empty inside.

/

When they made it to the capital early the next day, they tried to decipher the map given to them. After getting lost a few times, arguing about it, and then finally asking a local for directions, they found their way to the large estate that was the winter home for their client Lady Masako. Their job was to escort her to her family's summer home in the country.

There were guards at the gate, but when they gave them their mission scroll, they were allowed in while Lady Masako was called.

When they entered, they couldn't help but gape at the beauty of the estate.

"W-wow!" Naruto's eyes widened. "I bet everyone in Konoha could fit in her house!"

"Idiot! That's impossible!" But even she could only marvel at perfection.

Then the front doors opened, and the figure that emerged made the estate look pale in comparison.

"My dear friends, welcome!" Her voice was calm, as if a caress for the ear. Her face was naturally beautiful, her eyes kind. Sakura had never seen a woman so beautiful.

The boys too seemed taken, not that she could blame them. Naruto immediately began asking her questions, his face tinted pink. Sai, more reserved, had a look of curiosity as well, asking if he could possibly make a quick sketch of her home. Sakura hung back for a moment, watching, feeling small and insignificant. She was suddenly extra aware of every flaw, every stray hair. Next to Lady Masako, she now felt plain and uninteresting. But when the boys got too rowdy, she did her job and reeled them back in while apologizing to the lady.

Her green fingernail polish was chipped already anyways.

/

It would take them three days to get to the lady's summer home. Normally the majority of the household would move together, but some extra work left her father unable to travel at the normal time. Masako however, took great delight in the spring festival that occurred as the cherry blossoms were in bloom, and it was decided she would go ahead of the family so she could attend. And because she was royalty, some distant relative to the daimyo, she deserved the best protection money could buy.

"I love the country. I always feel so peaceful being out there. As if I can truly breathe." She smiled, her full pink lips curved in pure joy. "If I could, I would live there my entire life."

"You definitely should, 'ttebayo!" Naruto told her enthusiastically, and her eyes squinted in amusement.

"If only I could, Naruto-kun!" She sighed, stroking a hand across her silky straight hair. "But maybe one day I will. And when I do, I will invite all of you to stay with me."

Naruto grinned and even Sai gave a small smile.

Her green eyes look down once again as she stroked the brush against a nail.

"Naruto-kun, would you like to share a dumpling with me?" Masako made a gesture and split the dumpling in half.

"Sure!" She held it in her palm and he took it, his fingers brushing against her hand.

Sakura dipped the brush to coat it in more green. One more stroke and she felt satisfied.

"Done!"

Naruto was too preoccupied with his dumpling to notice. Too preoccupied to see the look in Masako's eyes. But Sakura saw it and knew. She _liked_ Naruto.

The paint was barely dry and yet it already felt chipped.

The roads carried less and less travelers as they neared their destination. But no matter who it was, Lady Masako always received attention from passers-by.

"Bless you Lady!" they called and bowed, and she would return it with a smile and incline of her head. She ignored not a one, giving attention to any who asked for it. And how happy they were to receive it, to be on the other end of one of her smiles.

Sakura heaved her pack higher on her shoulder, head looking up at the spotty clouds above. "What a nice day…" she said lightly.

"It is," Masako agreed with a refreshed sigh. "I feel as if my spirits are flying."

"We should be there by tomorrow," Sai reminded them, his face passive.

"Awww, already?" Naruto complained. He was enjoying himself, and Sakura had to suppress the urge to tell him _I told you so_.

Masako laughed, her voice a tinkling of bells. "Now Naruto-kun, I'm sure there are people back home that miss you dearly. What of them?"

"Heh, yeah, but we've been on longer missions than this. One time I left for almost 3 years. But when I came back, things were still the same." He grinned broadly. "I was glad."

Sakura twitched. "That's right…you said everything was the same." Her arms crossed and chin poked up. "We all changed a lot and you didn't notice it! Idiot!" _I changed a lot, for you even._

She glowered while he tried to look frightened, hands held up defensively. But Masako laughed, melting the tension.

"See Naruto-kun! People do miss you when you leave," was all she said as Naruto skipped safely to her side. He poked his head back at Sakura a few times, but she made no move against him.

Her pointer finger rubbed the nail of her thumb, catching the paint with the nail and flicking it off. Why did she bother? Green nail polish wouldn't make her more girly. It wouldn't make any man notice her, it wouldn't make people praise her, and it was a waste of time and money. She honestly didn't want to be like Masako. She didn't want to be a royal woman, a civilian. Being a ninja was what she was meant to be, and she wouldn't give it up for the world; and yet… there was a part of her that stirred, crying out for attention. She didn't always want to seem so rough, yet for the life of her she couldn't figure out how.

/

That night, she again sat cross-legged, painting her nails.

Naruto sat across the fire, laughing at one of Masako's stories. They got quiet just as she was putting the bottle away to get ready for bed.

"Sakura-san, your nails match your eyes. You have beautiful eyes."

Scratching the back of her head, Sakura felt suddenly embarrassed. "Ah, thank you Masako-san. I have my mother's eyes… er, and hair I guess." She gave a short laugh.

Suddenly, Naruto's face turned mischievous. "Luckily, you didn't get your hair from your dad."

"_Naruto_…" she fumed, fingers gripping together in a ball.

"That wasn't very nice, Naruto-kun!" Masako also reprimanded.

But he just kept smiling, watching Sakura with squinted eyes. "Only joking!"

When she lay down for bed , Naruto had already moved his bedroll between her and Sai, his usual spot.

But she barely noticed it. She was too busy rubbing at her green nail polish.

/

An early morning rain shower delayed their start the next day, but as soon as it cleared, they set on.

"I hope we make it in time," Masako fretted, her pace quickening as she spoke.

"We could always take turns carrying her," Sai offered, looking purposefully at Sakura. She ticked an annoyed brow in return.

"_No, Sai._"

"Just a suggestion."

It was almost noon when Masako stopped suddenly with a gasp. "Do you smell that?"

Curious, they all stopped and inhaled deeply.

"Oh, yeah! What is that? It's nice."

There was sweetness in the air and Sakura gulped in the fresh scent.

"It's the cherry blossoms," she murmured, answering Naruto's question.

His face lit up at the answer. "You mean…"

"We're close!" Masako finished for him, her actions full of giddy excitement. "Let's hurry!" Suddenly and boldly, she grabbed Naruto by the wrist and dashed away with him down the road, leaving Sai and Sakura to follow after. Of course it took little effort for them, as ninja, but for once they allowed themselves to pretend.

Soon they heard music playing and the voices of people in the distance. Masako knew exactly where she was going and all they had to do was follow her. They went off the road and through a line of trees and then another, and then all they saw was pink.

"Lady Masako! You made it!" The villagers called, rushing to greet her. There were men and women of all ages, and children, all mingling amongst the sakura.

"Every year, Masako-san performs our festival dance," an elderly woman explained, noticing their confused faces. "Legend has it that a girl traveled all the way across the sea to bring the first cherry blossom seeds to our village. She loved the trees so much that it is said her spirit moved into the sakura when she died. The dance is in remembrance of her that she might bless us this year."

Even as she spoke, the music began to change, and people hummed and clapped along. Masako appeared again, her attire had changed into a pink kimono that matched the cherry blossoms. She was laughing as she began to dance, and everyone turned to watch her. Each step was perfect and graceful, each movement fluid. Sakura knew she was nimble herself, but she was also quite sure she could never dance as well as Masako did now. It was a talent not gifted upon everyone. Her fingers felt heavy and she turned away to watch the curtain of cherry blossoms falling around them.

A presence next to her startled her as a hand appeared in front of her vision.

"Look Sakura-chan, it's exactly the same color as your hair." Her eyes crossed, trying to focus on the close proximity of his fingers clutching pink petals before her. He lifted her hand and placed it on her palm, all the while smiling broadly. Sakura stared down at the blossom.

"It…it is, isn't it?" she voiced, honestly surprised at how the flower really was the exact shade of pink as her own hair. Out of thousands of petals, how had he found one so perfectly matched? When she looked back up, he was gone, lost in the crowd.

Later, she found Masako and praised her for her dancing. For some reason though, Sakura found herself at the receiving end of a bitter smile.

"Thank you Sakura-san. It makes me sad to think that you all will be leaving though. I enjoyed traveling with you so much."

Touching the other woman's arm, Sakura tried to give her encouragement. "We'll try to come back here some time for another festival. We had a lot of fun as well."

Thankfulness shown in her eyes, and she smiled sincerely then. "I hope so… I really do admire you, Sakura-san. You have such a strong spirit, and…" she paused, looking her in the eye, "and a beauty about you that is unmatched."

Startled, Sakura leapt to deny such a thing. "Me? Are you kidding? Masako-san, you… you're pretty much perfect! Everyone loves you. I could never match that. Look at how everyone watched your dance. They couldn't look away!"

That bittersweet smile returned. "It is true that everyone did watch me dance… save the man I wanted to watch me most."

Sakura felt her cheeks heat up at Masako's words; without warning, her heart thundered, and her breath left.

"Not all beauty is in the face, in the body, or in a dance or smile. The greatest beauty is noticed by the heart alone." Her voice became soft and yet full of so much meaning. "And to that one heart, you are the most beautiful woman in the world."

It had struck her at her core and she immediately felt ashamed for feeling down about herself. And when she opened her palm, she didn't see the calluses or the chipped paint, but instead the cherry blossom sitting upon her hand.

Finally they said their goodbyes, leaving Masako in the hands of the villagers who loved her. The three of them sped off, finally allowing themselves to be ninja again.

That night as they sat around the fire, they reminisced about the time they had.

"I'm not ready to go back!" Naruto complained from his spot next to her on her bedroll.

She gave him a lofty expression in return. "Aren't you glad I convinced you to go?"

"Ehhh…" he pouted, not wanting to admit it and instead changed the subject. "Remember when that old man asked you your name? When he found out you were _Sakura_ he thought you were the spirit of the sakura tree and wanted your blessing!"

"Ah!" She complained, tugging her hair. "I tried to tell him I wasn't, but he just kept bowing!"

"I wonder at that man's sanity to make such a mistake," Sai offered, causing Naruto to laugh and Sakura to grind her teeth dangerously.

"Hey Sakura-chan, you haven't painted your nails." Naruto noticed, taking one of her hands into his own to inspect her fingers.

Sakura looked down, surprised yet enjoying the warmth of his hand against hers. "Really… I guess I must've forgotten." Then, suddenly, she looked up at him, catching his eye. "What do you think, Naruto?"

He grinned, squeezing her hand briefly. "I think Sakura-chan is always Sakura-chan." He replied simply, but she heard what he really meant. _You are beautiful no matter what._

"Mm," she closed her hand around his boldly and replied, "You're right. It really was a pain after all."

And when they lay down to sleep, his bedroll next to hers, he took her hand and kept it. Her green nail polish was forgotten, no match for the joy the simple gesture and unspoken words could cause.

/

"**It is not beauty that endears; it is love that makes us see beauty."  
~Tolstoy**

**

* * *

A/N: **I was going more for subtle NaruSaku, but wanted to deal with one of the things Sakura ends up being bashed for, which is her appearance. And, since it is canon that Sakura at some points has low self-esteem when it comes to how she looks, I wanted to write a oneshot about that. I love that Sakura is real like that; she is full of faults, but she is still learning a lot about herself.

Thanks to my wonderful beta!

-Miss Soupy


End file.
